


The Tale of Jaebum, God of Sleep

by marchtwentyfour



Category: GOT7
Genre: Greek Mythology - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-16 04:32:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11821302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marchtwentyfour/pseuds/marchtwentyfour
Summary: Mortals sleep for one day in a month, twelve days in a year. Mortals do not usually rest, but the gods had graced them that one day in a month to close their eyes and dream countless dreams. None of the mortals ever really complained about this, all but one.





	The Tale of Jaebum, God of Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> i am so sorry for this, as it is very different from all my other fics and my writing style too (i was trying something out)
> 
> this was supposed to be for my birthday, but i got a little bit busy to fix it up and upload it so here. ta-dah! i hope it's fun to read, at least a little

           Jinyoung does not know how else to describe himself besides normal. He was a normal 24 year old male; mornings spent on the fields tending to his land and the night spent preparing the hay to feed his horses for the next day.

        Jinyoung was from a normal family, in a fairly normal neighbourhood. His face as normal as his very neat black hair could be. His height just a few centimeters above average from people who are the same age as him, normal. His strong arms and legs makes up for his slim build. He was normal, normal in all ways but one.

        Jinyoung has a lover. His lover is as dazzling as the sun but as quiet and comforting as the moonlight. His lover’s brown hair, so beautiful and soft that he could just run his fingers through it. His lover’s eyes as dark as the night itself. His lover, the most not normal part of who Jinyoung is.

        Jinyoung’s lover is the personification of sleep, the great god of Sleep himself, Jaebum.

        “You are going?” Jinyoung hates saying good bye. When his Mother died and when his Father followed soon after, saying his farewells was the hardest. He tries to level his voice to not let his lover know what he really feels.

        “I will see you again, in a month’s time.” Jaebum’ hands are warm against his own, the god’s fingers intertwined with his own small ones. “You will wait for me?”

        A kiss in lieu of an answer, his lips pressed firmly on the god’s.

        “I will. In a month.” Jinyoung keeps their hands together until the first ray of sunlight enters his bedroom window. In a flash, in a whirl of cold air, Jaebum is gone.

        Sleep comes only once a month. Eyes closed, body relaxed and the mind wandering through different made-up scenes one after the other. Once a month, twelve times a year.

        Once a month the mortals celebrate Jaebum, the god of Sleep. The god himself leaves his home and graces the Land with his soft hands, lulling everyone to rest—to sleep.

        During these moments, these fleeting few hours, Jaebum visits his lover in the small hut near the river. His lover would be awake, resisting the charm with bright eyes and an even brighter smile. Who needs the sun when this man stands before him? Who needs immortality when this man makes him feel alive every second spent with him?

        Jinyoung calls himself normal, plain and the most uninteresting mortal in the Land. Jaebum would argue back, a list of how and why his lover is special at the tip of his tongue. But he does not say, he does not say that Jinyoung makes him feel awake, makes him feel like he should not spend his days away—a feat that no other god, not even Zeus himself had been able to.

        “You are special. You are amazing. You are mine.” The god tells his mortal, his lover, _his_ Jinyoung.

        Jinyoung does not believe him. Jaebum does nothing to prove otherwise.

        Mortals are hardworking, doing everything in their hands to live from day to day. They feed themselves, they clothe themselves, they offer their thanks to the gods and they do it all without rest. Except for one day.

        Zeus had given Jaebum the task of letting the mortals rest once a month, twelve times a year. It was during these visits that Jaebum had met Jinyoung and had fallen in love with the mortal.

        Jaebum’ touch was lingering in Jinyoung’s arms. He ignores the tingling sensation as he pushes himself upright and prepared for the day ahead. It was a day of crouching in front of his crops, digging through the soil and sprinkling them with water and care. Jinyoung is not looking forward to it, just the single idea feels like punishment. For what, he does not know how to word it out.

        “How was your rest, Jinyoung?” Jinyoung’s neighbour, Youngjae, asked him with a warm smile. They had been friends for so long, and yet he had not told his friend about Jaebum. About his lover. About who he is and who he loved.

        “How was yours, Youngjae?” Jinyoung does not answer, instead returned the question. He smiles through Youngjae’s story—made-up images in his mind while he was unconscious, he said—and they walked together towards Town.

        “Do you remember any of yours, Jinyoung?” Youngjae asked once again, eyes full of excitement. “Any quests to a hidden cave or a river underneath to save a fair maiden?”

        Jinyoung almost laughs, but he manages to shake his head. “I’m afraid I do not remember anything.”

       

        Mount Olympus. Zeus. Jinyoung has the scroll hidden underneath his clothing, a scroll that was sold to him by one of the merchants. It is where the gods reside, the man had told him. You will know exactly how and where to go just to reach the holy Mount Olympus. Jinyoung had taken out almost all his gold just to pay for the scroll.

        “Should I? Should I not?” Jinyoung asked himself through the darkness of the night. It would be too long before his lover would be back. He could see the pain that Jaebum has in his eyes whenever he says good-bye. There was nothing that Jinyoung could do to ease some of the pain as he was a mere mortal, a man whose life would soon flash to an end.

        The decision was made before Jinyoung could make any sense of it. A bag of bread and a jar of water is packed safely on his back. His comfiest footwear and a coat on his person along with the scroll tucked on his hands, he embarks on his journey.

        Jinyoung leaves at the first hint of sunrise, the orange hue of the sky guiding him towards the valley. He does not look back, does not say good bye to his field and his home and his friends. He knows there was a chance he might not be able to come back, knows that the danger he would be stepping onto could bring his demise. But he was willing to risk it all, to give him a chance to see Jaebum more than once a month, twelve times a year.

        It was raining, a storm was on the way and the wind was harsh. Jinyoung had taken shelter inside a dark cave. He knows that once the sun rises, he has to leave the confines of the cave and travel again.

        It had been seven days, a week. He was not counting properly, but he knows that if he does not arrive in Mount Olympus in time, Jaebum will visit the Land and would not find him in his home. He does not want to even imagine how his lover would react.

 

Mount Olympus is located in a faraway Land, far from where mortals reside. It is located in between mountains and blue seas. Jinyoung has never been there and has never set foot anywhere near it. He has no images in his head, has no expectations besides maybe that the place where the gods reside would be amazing.

        So Jinyoung walks, walks and walks.

        And then finally, Mount Olympus stands tall in front of Jinyoung. He knows he has the right place because he could see the clouds glowing, the thunder roaring throughout as if a warning to any trespassers. There had been no sight of a mortal for a long while and Jinyoung knows he had walked far. It has been days, probably weeks. He is running out of time before Jaebum comes to visit the Land to bring sleep and his lover would not find him in his home.

        So Jinyoung climbs, climbs and climbs.

        Just as he steps closer, inches closer to the top, there was a roaring voice that rang throughout. It was clear as day and the whole sky trembled with every word.

        “WHAT MORTAL DARES TO STEP FOOT IN MOUNT OLYMPUS?” Zeus sounds neither mad nor amused, but he did not sound pleased at all.

        Jinyoung trembles, he chants in his head why he was doing this. _For Jaebum. For love. For more time with his lover rather than the fleeting moments they share._ “My name is Jinyoung and I am a mere mortal, god. I come here to ask for an audience with you. I have a… request.”

        “A MORTAL? WITH A REQUEST?” Zeus’ booming laughter echoes throughout the skies and Jinyoung shudders at the gust of wind that reached him. “SPEAK, MORTAL. I DO NOT PROMISE I WILL GIVE YOU YOUR REQUEST BUT I WILL LISTEN.”

        “I…” Jinyoung almost bites the inside of his cheek, the words unable to form. “I wish for more sleep, god. Mortals receive your gift of sleep once a month and I hope we can…have more.” _More time. More Jaebum._

        Jinyoung does not receive a reply, instead a loud booming laughter and a strong gust of wind that toppled him over. He loses his footing and his hold on the rocks.

        So Jinyoung falls, falls and falls.

        Jinyoung does not come back up, lost in the foot of Mount Olympus, unconscious.

Zeus laughs from his seat, “FOOLISH, SUCH FOOLISHNESS FROM A MERE MORTAL. WE GIVE YOU ENOUGH AND YET YOU ASK FOR MORE?.”

 

Jaebum arrives in his lovers’ home with excitement and longing, expecting a warm embrace and a kiss to welcome him. He does not expect to see an empty room, abandoned for more than a few weeks already. He does not expect to see the crops in the field a little bit too dry and left to wither and die.

Jinyoung was gone and he does not know where to look. So Jaebum went looking for his lover, knowing that the other would not just leave without reason. He looked through the fields, through the town and through the valleys.

Sun had risen, but Jaebum was still looking. He found a footstep, faint yet telling as it walked through the forest. He follows it from daylight until the sun is replaced by the faint brightness from the moon.

Then, suddenly, the steps are gone and on the foot of Mount Olympus is the limp body of his lover. Jaebum almost steps on his own robe as he walks in a haste to reach his lover’s side. He has so many questions running through his mind but all he could do right now was to carry his lover’s body.

Bright, bright lightning splits through the sky. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING, SON?” Zeus’ voice was loud and shaking. Jaebum continues walking, Jinyoung’s limp body on his arms. “WHAT IS THIS MORTAL TO YOU, SON? THAT YOU INSIST ON CARRYING HIS BODY.”

Jaebum turns to look at the sky, his eyes teary and red. He couldn’t utter a word as his mouth quivered in place.

Zeus understood. “Have you fallen for a mere mortal?”

Jaebum nodded, “I have and I wish to spend eternity with him.”

 

People say that sleep comes every night, when the night is at its fullest and the moon is shining brightly above the skies. Instead of once a month, it comes every after day.

Sleep comes every night, standing over the lifeless body of his lover, waiting for Jinyoung to move—to wake up. He comes back every day, like clockwork, to his lover’s unresponsive form and it pains the god of Sleep every single day that now he has all the time to spend with Jinyoung and yet no time with him at all.

 


End file.
